The Digital Innovation Laboratory at The Daniel Cosío Villegas Library at El Colegio de México

• In Event: Latin American Digital Humanities: Emerging Strategies and Spaces III

Abstract

El Colegio de Mexico is a prestigious university and think tank in Mexico City that focuses on the Social Sciences and Humanities primarily at the graduate and postgraduate level. This institution has long been an early adopter of digital technologies and is considered as a change agent amongst its peer libraries in both Mexico and Latin America. While the library has both led and participated in innovative digital projects since the 90's, it had not created a formalized unit, organizational structure, nor workflows to support these initiatives at a large scale. However, with the growing number of digital projects that are currently being solicited from the library by its users, in 2015 the library had formally announced the creation of "La coordinacion de innovacion digital". This unit's function is to promote and support the utilization of digital technologies in the academic practices of the university's researchers and student body. The unit's services include system design and development, digitization, consulting, and teaching courses relating to digital humanities and social sciences. This presentation will introduce the unit, its organizational structure, detail the process relating to its creation, along with the challenges associated with its creation. Additionally, the presentation will detail a series of considerations to reflect on for persons taking on a similar endeavor.

Author

• Alberto S Martienz